St. Paul daily globe., 1887-08-29
THE INDIAN QUESTION.

As a rule the commissions appointed
by Congress to investigate affairs never
amount to much from the simple fact
that the members of the commission
generally make junketing trip to the
Indian reservations where they look
around for a day or two and then go
back to Washington with no more intel
ligent understanding of Indian affairs
than when they started out. 1t was,
therefore, an unusual, but none the
less sensible, plan that Senators DAWES
and MORGAN adopted when they
stopped over in st. Paul and tarried long
enough to inform themselves of the con-
dition Of affairs at White Earth, before
going up to the reservation. The wit
nesses called before the commission
were gentlemen who know more of
Indian character, and of the Minnesota
tribes in particular. than perhaps
any other person living. They are gen.
tlemen who not only have thorough
and intelligent knowledge of matters
pertaining to the Indian question, but
they have always exhibited kindly in
tereSt in the welfare of the Indians.
The commission desired the information
these gentlemen gave for its exclusive
benefit, consequently its sessions were
held with closed doors. But with its
customary facility for getting the news,
the GLOBE lays before its readers this
morning full report of the proceedings
of the secret meeting of the commission.
The statements made by the various
in 10
ters of interest relating to the Indians
on the Minnesota reservations, have an
important bearing on the final solution
of the Indian problem.
No two men are more capable of Civ
ing wise counsel concerning the future
government of the Indians, or whose
opinions on Indian affairs are more val
liable than Gen. SIBLY and ex-senator
RICE. 1t will be observed that they
both concur in the opinion that the sal
yation of the Indians depend upon their
being concentrated on one reservation
and the taking of land in seyeralty.
The statements of these two gentlemen
will 60 long ways in confirming the
wisdom of the policy now being pursued
by the CLEVELAND administration in
its treatment of the Indians. The allOt-
ment of lands in severalty to the In
dianS is distinctive feature of the adj
ministratiOn's policy, and the more it is
pressed upon public attention the more
thoroughly does the public mind
become convinced that this is
not only the most satisfactory, but in
reality the only solution of the Indian
problem. The Indian has reached a
crisis in his history. There are only two
alternatives presented to him. One is
annihilatiOn; the other is assimilation.
He has to choose between them, and
there can be no question in the mind of
every philanthrOpic person that the
power of the government should be eX-
erted in the direction of compelling him
to choose the latter.
With the information that the DAWES
committee has gained in advance of
its going upon the reservations, and
the confirmation of its correctness they
will have by the things they will see
when they get there, it is to be hoped
that for once congress will have laid be-
fore it report so thorough in its de-
tails, and so intelligent in its scope,
that there will be no difficulty in carry
ing into effect an Indian policy that will
forever remove the Indian as trouble
some factor in our national admins
tratiOnS.